Very involved in the charter signed by LVMH and Kering six years ago, Cyril Brulé, director of the Viva Model Management agency and president of Synam, the National Union of Modeling Agencies, looks back on the progress related to the working conditions of models but also on the hypocrisy surrounding the representation of bodies.
THE
FIGARO.
- What is your assessment of the 2017 "charter on working relations and the well-being of models"?
Cyril BRULE.
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Following this initiative, we have observed tangible progress in the working conditions of the models, in their morphology but also their age.
It has had an extremely positive effect within the brands of these two groups but also far beyond in the fashion industry all over the world.
Many houses did not wish to join this charter but were inspired by it to enact a code of ethics vis-à-vis models.
Only, the Covid pandemic has cut this momentum, and for two years, the question of models is no longer central for too many companies which now have other priorities.
I still mail it out to industry players every Fashion Week, but it's a waste of paper...I
How does this decline translate into the daily lives of models?
For example, if in France, casting directors respect their commitments regarding working conditions, we know that in Italy, some have inadmissible practices.
Besides, many models no longer want to work during Milan Fashion Week because they are tired of waiting for a casting, for hours on a sidewalk with no places to eat or sit... But what is the most visible for the general public, it is the question of the weight of the mannequins.
I have the feeling that this charter, which aspired to regulate certain abuses and excesses of the profession, has become a simple object of communication.
Cyril Brulé, director of the Viva Model Management agency and president of Synam
How do you react to a girl you suspect has an eating disorder?
There are two scenarios.
If it's a model who eats badly and isn't vigilant about her lifestyle, we'll sit down to talk about it with her.
If we detect a more serious food problem, we refer her to a doctor and as long as she has not regained the weight, we no longer represent her.
Recently, a young Canadian came to our agency, she had just met a stylist from an influential house with whom she was going to work.
But she was so skinny, she looked sick... It doesn't matter that she's booked in a fashion show, I don't want her at home because she has to be treated.
But how can models resist?
I saw how another girl from my agency, who was of normal height and worked regularly but nothing more,
started losing weight and walking better and better.
Today, she works every day.
What do you think of the many parades today where for forty thin or even skinny girls, there are two Plus-Size models (large size)?
We sometimes have the impression that they say to themselves that the overweight of some will compensate for the too low BMI of others.
Personally, I fight extreme thinness, but also obesity.
I don't understand how some parades or some advertising campaigns feature obviously obese young girls by conveying the message that "it's cool".
No it's not cool, it's a disease that causes real health problems.
